


Renewal

by ddagent



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Conflict Resolution, F/M, Friendship, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/pseuds/ddagent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whilst on vacation, Melinda finds someone waiting for her in her motel room.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Renewal

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Agents of SHIELD or any of its characters, or settings - all belongs to Marvel and ABC.
> 
> Whilst going through my old notebook, I found a few loose ideas tucked between the pages. Before I archived the notebook, I plucked this one out and decided to write it. I hope you enjoy.

Melinda slid in her key card, bracing her weight against the frame to open the door. She could have gone to a five star resort in the Caribbean, a luxurious hotel in the South of France. But Melinda could not relax in such accommodations. She preferred to travel, preferred to be on the road. She liked to be kept busy. Her vacation had been a series of cheap hotels and dingy motels, tucked in strange locations under a variety of false names. Although she’d enjoyed the trip, had reams of film to develop; Melinda was glad that her vacation was at an end.

 

The door finally gave, and Melinda pushed herself into her motel room. Her hand instantly went to the small of her back, to the gun she had stashed there. It was an automatic reaction to the presence of someone else in the room. She had her hand around the grip when she recognised the person leaning against the dresser.

 

“Hey.”

 

Phil stepped out of the dark; the lamp behind him casting shadows under his eyes, in the contours of his cheeks. He looked weary, his eyes not quite in focus. She knew why. “Jemma-“

 

“I know.” Melinda relaxed the hand holding the gun. “Skye called me.”

 

“Okay. Good.”

 

She was coming back. Skye had insisted that she didn’t have to, that there was not much that could be done. But Melinda knew the moment she had heard the worry in Skye’s voice that she would be getting on the next flight to D.C. As Melinda stood, watching Phil glance over her Spartan motel room, she wondered why he had come. Maybe he was afraid she wouldn’t come back. Maybe he was afraid she would never come back.

 

“Phil-“

 

“Can we talk?” He interrupted, pausing for a moment to wet his dry lips. “Here, or outside…can we talk?”    

 

Melinda gave a single nod before angling her body back towards the door. The motel was quiet; there were only a handful of travellers in the off season. Outside, she slotted a few coins into the vending machine before pulling out two bottles of water. When she turned back, she found Phil sitting by the pool. He’d rolled up his trousers, his shoes neatly placed beside his hip. There was a whisper of a smile on his face as he dangled his legs in the water, as if remembering a time that almost felt like a dream.

 

She knew what he was thinking about. As she joined him, she remembered that moment too.

 

Phil took the water gratefully, taking a messy gulp before he placed it next to his shoes. “No one knows I’m here. Not Skye, not Andrew, not Weaver. They think I’m meeting Hill.”

 

“Then why are you here?”

 

“I needed to see you.” Melinda swallowed, her dark eyes turning from Phil to the smooth surface of the pool. She could turn away from him, but his words followed her. “When you left, there were things still left unsaid. Now that you’re coming back – if you’re coming back – I want things to be fixed.”

 

Melinda sighed, her fingers clutching the edge of the pool. The rough tile bit into her skin. “This is not something that can be fixed with a conversation, Phil, or even a lengthy apology. I meant what I said back at the Playground. We don’t owe each other anything.”

 

Lifting her eyes from the shimmering water, Melinda turned to Phil. Her words had hurt. _Good._ “Maybe not. But you mean a lot to me, Melinda. There’s probably not a person alive who means more. Could we…could we at least try?”

 

“Fine.” Phil’s gaze was unflinching as she stared at him. He had come all this way to make things right. She owed it to their friendship – what was left of it – to at least talk to him. “Things have changed between us, Phil. They changed after New York, they changed after SHIELD fell. They’ve changed for _me._ But not you.”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

“You may be the Director, and I may follow you, but I’m not following the Director. I’m following my partner, my _friend._ When you began to carve, you trusted me implicitly. Now I’m not so sure that you do. Pulling rank, on _me, hurt_.”

 

Phil didn’t answer, not immediately. He reached into his jacket, pulled out a tube of paper from inside. He straightened it out before handing it to her. Melinda stared at the paper, certain words leaping off the page. _Operations, successor, commander._ “I don’t understand.”

 

“I do trust you; I trust you implicitly. When I was carving, when we were talking about putting me down, I wanted you to lead SHIELD. I still want that. I want us to build this together, Melinda. You and me. _Partners._ I’m not sure I can do this without you.”

 

She snorted. “You can.”

 

“Not the right way.” Looking up from the contract, she saw that he was smiling. “Take some time; you don’t have to decide tonight.”

 

“Thank you.” Melinda looked back at the paper. _Melinda May, Commander of Operations._ With the new change in SHEILD’s organisational structure, this made her role explicit. There would be no doubt, now, that she and Phil were in this together. Smiling wistfully, she turned back to her partner. “Thank you.”

 

Phil beamed. “You’re welcome. I still owe you that apology. I know that saying ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t going to mean a lot now. I’ve asked a lot of you this past year, probably too much.  And I’m sorry for that. You’ve given a lot to me; I want to return the favour.” He paused, swallowing. “I miss you.”

 

“I miss you too.”   Fighting with Phil always hurt. Before New York, the longest they had fought was for a three day period at the Academy when Phil had got in trouble for a prank Melinda had pulled. After last year, Melinda had hoped they wouldn’t be at odds again. Now, perhaps, they could move on for good. “What happens now?”

 

“I guess we go home, we find Jemma. We rebuild SHIELD. I cook us dinner. One quiet night: you can tell me all about your vacation, we can talk about old times. What do you think?”

 

Melinda smiled. “It sounds perfect. Apart from the _one quiet night._ You know that’s never going to happen.”

 

Phil shrugged. “I’m an optimist.”

 

They sat, smiling faintly at each other, legs dangling in the cool pool water. Eventually they both got to their feet, Melinda reaching out to help her partner stand. It didn’t take too long to pack; it wasn’t even a long drive to the Quinjet. Melinda wasn’t sure what she would face upon returning to the Playground. Jemma missing, Andrew on-board, Skye distant. Glancing towards Phil, she could see the uneasiness in his own eyes. But then he reached for her hand. A slight touch, meant to reaffirm the renewal of their relationship. They were both surprised when Melinda held his hand firmly within hers.

 

Things were changing. 


End file.
